Post-project reviews in R&D
Journal
Research Technology Management
ISSN
0895-6308
ISSN-Digital
1930-0166
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2003-09-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Post-project reviews - sometimes called post-mortems - are opportunities to improve performance in subsequent R&D projects. However, most companies have not established a structured approach to learning from projects after their completion. Even worse, most projects that have been prematurely terminated never undergo a retrospective analysis of what caused them to fail. A recent survey indicated that 80% of all R&D projects were not reviewed at all after completion, and most of the remaining 20% were reviewed without established review guidelines. Companies that neglect post-project reviews as a tool for systematic inter-project learning throw away invaluable potential for competence building. A five-level post-project process model is presented that helps to build such a learning organization in R&D: 1. initial review practice, 2. repeatable review processes, 3. defined review standards and processes, 4. managed review capability, and 5. optimizing review maturity.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Industrial Research Inst.
Publisher place
Arlington, VA
Volume
46
Number
5
Start page
43
End page
49
Pages
7
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
584